Updated SDL2 packages
Posted: 28. Feb 2023, 23:58
Salix 15.0 includes SDL2 packages about one year old. They work pretty well, but latest SDL2 versions aren't just bug fix releases, they also add functionality which I happen to need, so I decided to create updated SDL2 Salix 15.0 packages, specifically:
Those are the versions most GNU/Linux distributions (and FreeBSD) have in their repositories. From what I read, they are also the final versions of SDL2 (development is focused on the SDL3 branch now, but SDL2 will remain necessary for a long time because many applications depend on it).
Now, I know Salix doesn't officially accept package updates except for security bug fixes, so I didn't submit those in SourceForge Salix package submissions. However, if you use SDL2 a lot, I guess it is worth installing those packages instead of the ones included in the repositories - considering those are the most recent (and final) SDL2 releases, which are not expected to change anymore.
You can install all the packages above or just some of them, combined with some of the SDL2 packages in the repositories. The SDL2 API not only makes this possible without any issues, but the API itself includes procedures detecting the SDL2 version an application was compiled with and the active SDL2 linked version (which are not necessarily the same). I just made my personal local repository and placed those updated packages there with higher priority, replacing the ones in the repositories. If you use SDL2 for development, sooner or later you will need those packages as I did. If you have SDL2 installed just because some applications need it (such as gimp, for example), you probably don't need to bother with upgrades.
Note that you will also find SDL2_gfx in Salix repositories. There is no need to upgrade that one. SDL2_gfx is not part of SDL2 bundle (it is developed independently), and the version in the repos is up-to-date anyway.
Now, I know Salix doesn't officially accept package updates except for security bug fixes, so I didn't submit those in SourceForge Salix package submissions. However, if you use SDL2 a lot, I guess it is worth installing those packages instead of the ones included in the repositories - considering those are the most recent (and final) SDL2 releases, which are not expected to change anymore.
You can install all the packages above or just some of them, combined with some of the SDL2 packages in the repositories. The SDL2 API not only makes this possible without any issues, but the API itself includes procedures detecting the SDL2 version an application was compiled with and the active SDL2 linked version (which are not necessarily the same). I just made my personal local repository and placed those updated packages there with higher priority, replacing the ones in the repositories. If you use SDL2 for development, sooner or later you will need those packages as I did. If you have SDL2 installed just because some applications need it (such as gimp, for example), you probably don't need to bother with upgrades.
Note that you will also find SDL2_gfx in Salix repositories. There is no need to upgrade that one. SDL2_gfx is not part of SDL2 bundle (it is developed independently), and the version in the repos is up-to-date anyway.